Incentivized crowd funding system for internal innovation by an organization

ABSTRACT

Crowd funding for innovation includes distributing a proposal with a description of a project idea, an amount of funds requested, and a time frame for raising the funds. Ownership of the project is transferred to an entity, which receives contributions from contributors and for each of the received contributions converts the contribution to a corresponding amount of virtual coin and adds the contribution to the funds. If the funding goal is complete within the time frame, the entity converts the coins to actual money and releases the money to the requestor. After completion of the project, the entity determines if the project is successful and can commercialize successful projects. For certain successful projects, the entity can also distribute funds to the contributors.

BACKGROUND

Crowd funding is a way to fund a project by raising many small amountsof money from a large group of people. An example is the Kickstarterinnovation web site from Kickstarter, Inc. (based in Greenpoint,Brooklyn, US). The Kickstarter site can be used to fund creativeprojects via crowd funding with Kickstarter retaining a portion of thefunds as its fee. The creator of the project retains complete ownershipof it. The backers are often helping to fund their friends' project andcan see the creative process as it happens. Also, the backers mayreceive a copy of the finished creative work such as a book or CD. Sincethe project creator retains ownership of the project, this type offunding may not be desirable for a corporate funding of projects orideas where the corporation wants to retain ownership of the project inorder to commercialize it if the project is successful.

SUMMARY

A computer-implemented method of crowd funding for innovation,consistent with the present invention, includes distributing a proposalwith a description of a project idea, an amount of funds requested, anda time frame for raising the funds. Ownership of the project istransferred to an entity. In response to the proposal, the entityreceives contributions from contributors and for each of the receivedcontributions the entity converts the contribution to a correspondingamount of coin, and adds the contribution to the funds. The entityreleases an amount of money corresponding with the amount of coin in thefunds if the funding goal is met within the time frame and within a bankamount of funds available for the project. The entity determines if theproject is successful after the money is released. If the project issuccessful, the entity can optionally distribute the funds or a bonus tothe contributors, converted from the coin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part ofthis specification and, together with the description, explain theadvantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for incentivized crowd funding;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for receiving a proposal for crowdfunding;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a flow chart of a method for incentivized crowdfunding;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a user interface for a requestor to submit aproposal;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a user interface for making a contribution to aproposal;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a user interface for distributing coin to a poolof potential contributors;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary icon for a coin; and

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a user interface for submitting a proposal andmonitoring the status of it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of this invention include the combination of a crowd sourcedidea generation electronic web site with crowd sourced funding forcorporate innovation. The actual funding comes from internal corporatesources based upon contributions from individuals, since the ideas andprojects that will be created and funded and ultimately produced will bethe sole property of the company that employs the crowd. But thedecision as to what to fund will be entirely up to the individuals(internal crowd) that are placing the funds on the projects and ideas asthey see fit. The ideas are crowd sourced as well. This combinationprovides a new way for corporate innovation and commercialization ofideas, for example. An example of a crowd funding system for innovationis disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0335610,which is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for incentivized crowd funding. Thesystem includes contributor computers 10, 20, and 22 for use incontributing to a project. Contributor computer 10 can include aprocessor 12, an input device 14 for receiving information or commands,an electronic display device 16 for displaying information, and anoutput device 18 for outputting information in other forms such asaudible information. Contributor computers 20 and 22 can include thesame components, or be configured in the same way, as contributorcomputer 10. The contributor computers are electronically coupled to anetwork 24 such as the Internet or a corporate intranet. Entity computersystems 26 are also electronically coupled with network 24. Entitycomputer systems 26 can include computer applications used within largeor small organizations, and such systems can include electronic mail(email), accounting systems, record keeping systems, electronicdatabases, and computers for hosting internal web sites. Only threecontributor computers are shown for illustrative purposes, and thesystem can be scaled to include a large number of contributor computers,sufficient to fund a project, coupled to entity computer systems 26 vianetwork 24. The entity can be, for example, a corporation, partnership,or other organization involved in developing ideas for innovation. Theentity controls, directly or indirectly, entity computer systems 26.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method 30 for receiving a proposal for crowdfunding. Method 30 can be implemented in software for execution by acomputer, such as one of the contributor computers or other computercoupled to entity computer systems 26 via network 24. In method 30, arequestor electronically submits a proposal for funds (step 32). Arequestor can be, for example, a person such as an employee orconsultant of the entity. The requestor can also be, for example, agroup of persons such as a team of employees of the entity.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a user interface 90 for a requestor to submit aproposal. User interface 90 can be displayed on an electronic displaydevice of a computer for the requestor to submit information. Userinterface 90 includes a section 92 to identify the requestor, a section94 to describe the proposal or idea, a section 96 to identify the amountof funds requested, and a section 98 to indicate a time frame togenerate the requested funds. The proposal in user interface 90 can bedescribed in text, photos, video, or other multi-media content. Userinterface 90 can also include a bank gauge 95, a funds gauge 97, and atime gauge 99 to provide a visual representation of the following: theamount of coins remaining in the bank and available for this proposal ingauge 95; the funds currently obtained or collected in gauge 97; and thetime remaining to reach the funding goal in gauge 99. Gauges 95, 97, and99 can be implemented with icons in user interface 90. For example, bankgauge 95 can include a bar that decreases in length as coins from thebank are used to fund this proposal, funds gauge 97 can include a barthat increases in length as funds are collected, and time gauge 99 caninclude a clock that counts down showing the amount of time remaining.Gauges 95, 97, and 99 can provide a way for both the requestor andpotential contributors to view the status of the crowd funding for theproposal.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of another, and a stylized, user interface 130 forsubmitting a proposal and monitoring the status of it. User interface130 can be displayed on an electronic display device of a computer forthe requestor to submit a proposal for a project and monitor statusinformation relating to the proposal. User interface 130 can beimplemented, for example, as a customizable template for various groupswithin the entity.

User interface 130 includes a section 132 to indicate how many proposalsthis requestor has submitted. For example, different types of iconsdisplayed in section 132 can indicate how many proposals this requestorhas submitted and, as another example, the light bulb icon shown in FIG.8 can indicate that this proposal is the first idea submitted by thisrequestor. Instead of displaying different types of icons, the lightbulb icon can optionally be shown in different colors to provide anindication of how many proposals this requestor has submitted or includea displayed numeral with the icon to indicate the number of submittedproposals. Section 132, or other parts of user interface 130, can alsoinclude icons, in addition to or instead of the light bulb icon, toindicate other information relating to the requestor. For example,particular types of badge icons can be displayed and used to indicatehow many proposals the requestor has contributed to, how many of theproposals the requestor has contributed to have been deemed successful,or how many of the requestor's proposals have been deemed successful.For example, a badge icon of a displayed gold circle can indicate thisrequestor has contributed to at least three proposals resulting insuccessful projects, and a badge icon of a displayed silver circle canindicate this requestor has contributed to at least one proposalresulting in a successful project. As another example, a badge icon of adisplayed gold star can indicate this requestor has submitted at leastthree proposals resulting in successful projects, and a badge icon of adisplayed silver star can indicate this requestor has submitted at leastone proposal resulting in a successful project. Displaying these badgeicons can thus provide, for example, information useful to contributorsin deciding whether to contribute to this particular proposal and, ifso, how much to contribute. The term “badge” is only used as a label toidentify the type of information conveyed by the corresponding icon. Asection 134 can display information about the requestor, for example aphoto of the requestor and the requestor's name, assigned divisionwithin the entity, and geographic location.

A section 136, corresponding with funds gauge 97, can display anindication of the current funding obtained for the proposal and thetotal amount of funds requested. In this example, section 136 displays abar that increases in length as funds are obtained, and the total lengthof the bar indicates the amount of funds requested. The amount fundscurrently obtained and the amount requested can also be displayed intext adjacent the bar. A section 138, corresponding with time gauge 99,can display an indication of the time remaining to raise funds for thisproposal, in this example the number of days remaining. A section 140can display an indication of the status of the proposal, in this examplethe status being the proposal is in the process of obtaining funds andhas not yet been approved. Section 140 can be updated to display anindication of other status for the proposal, for example the proposalhaving been approved or completed. A section 142 can describe theproposal or idea for a project submitted by the requestor, and theproposal in section 142 can be described in text, photos, video, orother multi-media content. Section 142 can optionally include a link(electronic network address) to additional information about theproposal.

A section 144 can display an indication of the amount of coin availableto the requestor for use in contributing to proposals. For example, eachshaded icon in section 144 can correspond with a particular amount ofcoin available to the requestor for contributing to proposals. Forexample, each shaded icon can represent one hundred coins, and the valuerepresented by each icon in section 144 can also be displayed. The iconsin section 144 are shown as shaded and non-shaded circles for exemplarypurposes, and these icons can be stylized as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and7, as described below. A section 146, corresponding with bank gauge 95,can display an indication of the total amount of funds available in thebank. In this example, section 146 displays a bar that decreases inlength, and a series of bars that decrease in illumination, as fundsfrom the bank are used to contribute to this proposal. User interface130 can thus display a time gauge in section 138 visually indicating anamount of time remaining to obtain a requested amount of funds for theproject, display a funds gauge in section 136 visually indicating anamount of funds currently obtained for the project, and display a bankgauge in section 146 visually indicating an amount of funds availablefor the project by contributors eligible for using the bank funds tomake contributions to the project. User interface 130 can also displaychanges in the funds gauge and the bank gauge during the amount of timeremaining, indicated by the time gauge, as contributions are receivedfor the project, where the displayed changes in the funds gauge and thebank gauge correspond with the received contributions. The time gauge,funds gauge, and bank gauge can also be implemented with various colorsto further visually indicate the status of, respectively, timeremaining, current funds obtained, and funds remaining in the bank. Thecontributors to the proposal identified in section 142 can possibly haveaccess to user interface 130 to monitor the status of the proposal andview the gauges for the proposal.

The entity records the proposal via entity computer systems 26 (step 34)in method 30 of FIG. 2. The entity also determines whether to approvethe proposal for crowd funding. Whether to approve the proposal can bedetermined by, for example, a committee with members who have votingrights to approve or deny proposals. If the proposal is denied, theentity can send a denial message such as via email to the requestor vianetwork 24 from entity computer systems 26 (step 36). The proposal canbe denied if, for example, all the syntax or information for theproposal is not complete, even though the idea itself would be approved.The review of the proposal to determine whether to approve or deny itwould occur to determine if the proposal is complete and not to limitthe idea, although in some embodiments the review can occur to approveor deny the actual idea proposed. If the proposal is approved, theentity broadcasts the proposal to potential contributors (step 38). Theproposal can be broadcast as an email to eligible contributors for theproject, or the proposal can be posted on an internal web site for theentity, and a message such as an email or text message can be sent toeligible contributors notifying them of the proposal.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a flow chart of a method 40 for incentivized crowdfunding. Method 40 can be implemented in software for execution by thecontributor computers 10, 20, and 22, and entity computer systems 26. Inmethod 40, the pool of potential contributors 41, as represented bycontributions 42, 44, and 46, can view a proposal and make acontribution to fund it. Only three contributions are shown forillustrative purposes; the funding could come from a wide range of thenumber of contributors. A contributor can be, for example, a person suchas an employee or consultant of the entity. The contributors can alsobe, for example, a group of persons such as a team of employees of theentity.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a user interface 100 for making a contribution toa proposal. User interface 100 can be displayed on an electronic displaydevice of a computer for the contributor to make a contribution. Userinterface 100 includes a section 102 to identify the contributor, asection 104 to identify the proposal to which the contributor is makinga contribution, and a section 106 to indicate the amount contributed tothis proposal. The amount contributed can be billed to the contributoror assessed as a payroll deduction, for example. If the contributor isproviding coin for the funding, then the amount of the contribution canbe deducted from the contributor's coin account. User interface 100 canalso include a section 107 to display an indication of the contributorsremaining amount of coin, and a section 109 to display an indication ofthe time remaining for the contributor to spend the coin on proposals.The virtual coins represented in section 107 can also include coins fromthe bank available to fund this proposal and available to thiscontributor for funding it. Each of the contributors' contributions 42,44, and 46 can be selectively subject to corresponding incentivemultipliers (steps 48, 50, and 52, respectively). Incentives areprovided in part by multipliers that can increase the potential returnbased upon particular criteria such as the country where a contributoris based, the group or division to which a contributor is assigned, thenumber of successful projects to which the contributor has contributed,or other criteria to encourage participation by certain individuals orgroups. As an example, the incentive multiplier can be 1.5 or 2.0 sothat, if a project is successful, the corresponding contributor receives1.5 times or twice the original contribution, respectively. Instead ofusing corporate or entity funds to make one large internal grant, thecorporate funds can be used to encourage participation by offering apotential return based upon the incentive multipliers. When a proposalis broadcast, the entity can optionally include an identification ofincentive multipliers for the project. For example, if the entity wantsto encourage participation by employees of the entity based in Europe,the entity can indicate that any contributor based in Europe willreceive an incentive multiplier along with an indication of suchmultiplier. As another example, if the entity wants to encourageparticipation by employees who work in the same group or division as therequestor, the entity can indicate that any of those employees ascontributors will receive an incentive multiplier.

Also, to provide for raising many small amounts of money, the individualcontributions, represented by contributions 42, 44, and 46, can belimited to a certain percentage of the fund goal (amount requested), forexample 5% or 1%. For example, if the requested amount of funds is$10,000, the entity can limit individual contributions to 5% of thatamount or $500. As another example, the entity can establish a monetarylimit such as $100 for each contribution to a proposal. Otherpercentages or monetary limits are possible, if used. These limits canhelp to encourage participation by a large number of contributors asoften desired for crowd funding. If an individual contribution exceedsthe limit, when used, then the contribution is not accepted, and thecorresponding contributor can possibly be notified that the attemptedcontribution exceeded the limit.

The contributions 42, 44, and 46, after selectively adjusted by theincentive multipliers, are converted to a corresponding amount of coin(steps 54, 56, and 58, respectively), and the resulting amounts areadded to the fund in step 60. Coin can be used as artificial or virtualcurrency. In particular, coin is an artificial monetary amountrepresenting an actual amount of money preferably in a single currency.Coin can also be branded to convey specific corporate messages or linkthe history of the organization (entity) to significant people or eventsin the life of the organization. Coin thus provides a way to convertcontributions in a variety of currencies to a universal monetary unit,as well as communicate to requestors and contributors.

The existing currency exchange rates can be used to convert from acontributor's currency to coin, or artificial exchange rates can begenerated for conversion to coin. The exchange rate used to convert tocoin is saved to later potentially convert back to currency when fundsare disbursed for successful projects. The type of currency for coin canbe, for example, the currency of a requestor's country. For example, ifthe requestor is based in the United States, then the coin can representUS dollars for this requestor's fund, and the contributor'scontributions, if not in US dollars, are converted from the currency oforigin to US dollars. For example, if a contributor is based in Europeand the requestor is based in the United States, the contributor'scontribution can be converted using the current exchange rate (at thetime of the contribution) from euros to US dollars. The artificialexchange rates, if used, can be another way to provide incentives byestablishing exchange rates between particular currencies greater thanexisting exchange rates.

Furthermore, instead of contributing actual money, it is possible forcontributors to earn coin through particular activities such aspresenting a technical paper, the contributors' number of grantedpatents, or the contributor's rating as determined by performancereviews. The earned coins can optionally have an expiration date, forexample at the end of the current fiscal year for the entity.

Instead of, or in addition to, earning coin the entity can distributecoin to the pool of potential contributors 41 in step 51. In particular,the entity can replenish coins to the pool of contributors. The entitycan also replenish coin in the bank in step 53. The bank can represent atotal amount of coin available for funding proposals, possibly withlimits concerning contributors who may use the coin in the bank,proposals for which the contributors may use the coin in the bank, andan amount of coin in the bank each eligible contributor may use to fundprojects. For example, the total amount of coin in the bank can bereserved for use by only employees within a particular division of thecompany with each of those eligible employees allotted only a certainamount of coin in the bank and, as another example, for use only withina particular time frame. As other examples of such limits, the coin inthe bank can be limited for use only by employees within a particulargeographic region or only by employees who have previously contributedto a particular number of successful projects. The bank can thus includeseveral banks of coin based upon these limits, for example. The entitycan replenish coin in the bank for step 53 on a regular basis, forexample the entity can replenish the bank every calendar quarter orevery fiscal quarter for the entity. The entity can also replenish thecoin in the bank at other times or according to other criteria.

This distributed coin, and possibly the earned coin and the coin in thebank, can be owned by the entity and licensed to the contributors withthe license specifying how the coin can be used and a time limit on it.For example, the license can include the following terms: the coin canonly be used to fund eligible requestors' proposals; the coin representsa value of actual money but has no monetary value itself; and the coinmust be used within the current fiscal year of the entity, otherwise thecoin expires.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a user interface 110 for distributing or sendingcoin to a pool of potential contributors. User interface 110 can bedisplayed on an electronic display device of a computer for potentialcontributors to receive the coin. User interface 110 includes a section112 to display a coin icon representing coin, a section 114 to displaythe amount of coin (number of units) to be distributed or sent to apotential contributor, and a section 116 to display a time limit forusing the distributed coin. If the coin is licensed to the potentialcontributor, the contributor can select the accept button on userinterface 110 to accept the terms of the license and receive the coininto the contributors coin account subject to the license. Thecontributor could view the license terms in user interface 110 oranother associated user interface. The value of the coins distributedcan be based upon, for example, a particular proposal. As an example, ifthe requestor for a proposal is based in the United States, then onecoin (one unit) can equal one US dollar. As another example, if therequestor for a proposal is based in Europe, then one coin (one unit)can equal one European Union euro.

As indicated above, the coin can optionally be branded. FIG. 7 is adiagram of an exemplary icon 122 for coin to be displayed on anelectronic display device or screen represented by dashed line 120, forexample as the coin icon 112 in user interface 110 or the coin icons insection 144 of user interface 130. This exemplary icon 122 resembles amonetary coin and can include the entity name or brand, possiblystylized, along with a message as shown.

Entity computer systems 26 determine if the funding goal is completewithin the specified time frame for contributions and optionally withina total amount in the bank available for this proposal (step 62) inmethod 40 of FIGS. 3A and 3B. If the funding goal is not complete,entity computer systems 26 can add more time for raising funds (step64), or delete the fund (step 65) and return any coins to thecontributors (step 66). Deleting the fund in step 65 means that thecontributors are not charged with the amounts of actual money they hadproposed contributing, and if the contributors originally used earnedcoin as the proposed contribution, those coins are returned to thecontributors coin account in step 66. If more time is added to raisefunds, the requestor can optionally refine the proposal and resubmit it.

In addition, if more time is added in step 64, the entity can alsochange the value of the coin in the bank for this proposal (step 55) oradd more coin to the bank for this proposal (step 57), or perform bothsteps 55 and 57. Changing the value of the coin in the bank for thisproposal can effectively increase the amount of funds available for it.For example, the entity can initially set the value of the coin in thebank as one coin represents one US dollar and then change the value ofthe coin in the bank as one coin represents ten US dollars. In somecases, the entity may change the value of the coin in the bank for thisproposal by decreasing the value, for example if more coin is added tobank for funding this project.

If the funding goal is complete within the time frame (step 62), entitycomputer systems 26 convert the coins for the proposal to actual moneyand release the money to the requestor (step 68), and the project isunderway (step 70). If coin from the bank was used to fund thisproposal, entity computer systems 26 remove a corresponding amount ofcoin from the bank (step 67). Also, entity computer system 26 canprovide a notification to contributors that the proposal to which theycontributed has met its funding goal and the corresponding project isunderway (step 69). This notification can include, for example, an emailmessage, a posting on an internal web site, and a change in the statusin section 140 of user interface 130.

By using coin to represent an artificial monetary amount, actual moneyfor the funds can optionally be locally released to the requestor in thecountry where the requestor is based. For example, if the entity isbased in the United States but the requestor is based in Europe, theentity can instruct a European division of the entity to release theactual money to the requestor rather than transferring money from theUnited States to a European location or account. The actual money can bereleased by, for example, providing an electronic transfer of funds tothe requestor's bank account or by issuing a check to the requestor.Furthermore, by using coin to represent an artificial monetary amount,the actual money for the project is only expensed when the project isapproved, for example.

Upon beginning the project, the requestor transfers ownership of thedata for the project to the entity (steps 72 and 74). Transferringownership of the data can include transferring intellectual propertyrights in the data such as any applicable patent, copyright, trademark,and trade secret rights. As the project is underway, a status of theproject can be provided to the contributors by, for example, an emailmessage or electronic posting, allowing the contributors to track theprogress of the projects to which they have contributed.

When the project time is complete, it is determined whether the projectwas successful (step 76). If the project was not successful, the projectends and no funds are returned to the contributors, having taken therisk of funding the project (step 78). If the project was successful,the project can possibly enter commercial production by the entity (step80). A project can be deemed successful if, for example, the project canresult in a commercial product for the entity, if the project results ina working prototype, or according to other criteria. Also, the requestortransfers ownership of the project to the entity (steps 86 and 74).Transferring ownership of the project can include transferring ownershipof any resulting prototypes or other physical items and transferringintellectual property rights in the project such as any applicablepatent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret rights.

Entity computer systems 26 record data for the project (step 84) andoptionally disburse funds to the contributors, adjusted by thecorresponding incentive multipliers, and converted from coin to thecontributors' currencies using the corresponding conversion rates (step82). When step 82 is executed, the funds or bonus can be disbursed by,for example, electronic transfers to the contributors' bank accounts orby issuing checks to the contributors. If the project was funded withcoins distributed to the pool of potential contributors, then the entitymay not execute step 82. If the project was funded in part bycontributors money converted to coin, then the entity may elect toexecute step 82 for those types of contributions. Alternatively for step82, the contributors, or selected ones of the contributors, can receivea type of bonus, for example a monetary bonus or an increase in virtualcoins to reinvest in other projects with the coins being deposited intothe contributors' coin accounts. Another type of bonus can involverewarding successful investors, meaning the contributors who havecontributed to projects deemed successful. A contributor's number ofsuccessful projects can be tracked, and the contributors who contributeto such successful projects can be rewarded with additional orincreasing amounts of virtual coin to reinvest in other projects. Thisbonus for contributing to successful projects can be, for example, a setamount of coin for each successful project or increasing amounts of coinbased upon the number of successful projects. Therefore, thosecontributors who have a proven record of contributing to successfulprojects can be rewarded with more coin and encouraged to invest in moreproposals they believe will result in successful projects.

Furthermore, if the project was successful, entity computer systems 26can receive optional feedback from the contributors for the proposalcorresponding with this project (step 85). Feedback from thecontributors to the project can include the following information: an upvote indicating approval of the completed project; a down voteindicating disapproval of the completed project; an indication that theproject did not meet the contributors' expectations; or an indicationthat the project exceeded the contributors' expectations. The feedbackcan be provided, for example, in a user interface such as part of userinterfaces 100 or 130.

Security features can be incorporated into this crowd funding systembased upon various criteria such as groups or geographic regions. Forexample, if a proposal is only available for funding by contributorswithin a particular group or division of the entity, then only thosecontributors can be granted access to information about the proposal. Asanother example, if a proposal is only available for funding bycontributors within a geographic region, then only those contributorswithin that geographic region can be granted access to information aboutthe proposal.

Table 1 provides an example of a data structure for granting coin tocontributors based upon particular activities. Table 2 provides anexample of a data structure for recording conversion rates forconverting contributions to a corresponding amount of coin. Table 3provides an example of a data structure for recording data forcontributions for a particular project. Table 4 provides an example of adata structure for recording coin distributed to potential contributors.Table 5 provides an example of a data structure for recording projectdata. Table 6 provides an example of a data structure for a bank ofcoin, divided into multiple banks, where each bank has a group ofrequestors eligible for having coin from the bank used for theirproposals and groups of contributors eligible for using coin from thebank for contributing to those proposals. Tables 1-6 are representativeof data structures to be stored in a computer memory or electronicdatabase for access by the entity computer systems or other computers.

TABLE 1 Earned Coin Amounts Activity Amount of Coin activity 1 amount 1activity 2 amount 2 . . . activity N amount N

TABLE 2 Conversion Rates Type of Currency Rate for Conversion to CoinCoin 1 currency 1 current rate for currency 1 OR artificial rate 1currency 2 current rate for currency 2 OR artificial rate 2 . . .currency N current rate for currency N OR artificial rate N

TABLE 3 Project Contributors Incentive Conversion Contributor CountryContribution Multiplier Rate contributor ID 1 country 1 amount 1multiplier 1 rate 1 contributor ID 2 country 2 amount 2 multiplier 2rate 2 . . . contributor ID N country N amount N multiplier N rate N

TABLE 4 Coin Distribution Pool of Potential Contributors Amount (Numberof Coins) Expiration Date contributor ID 1 amount 1 date 1 contributorID 2 amount 2 date 2 . . . contributor ID N amount N date N

TABLE 5 Project Data Project ID Requestor Amount of Coin ReceivedProduct project 1 requestor 1 fund 1 product 1 project 2 requestor 2fund 2 product 2 . . . project N requestor N fund N product N

TABLE 6 Bank of Coin Amount Value Eligible Eligible Bank of Coin of CoinRequestors Contributors bank 1 amount 1 value 1 requestors 1a,contributors 1a, 1b, . . . 1n 1b, . . . 1n bank 2 amount 2 value 2requestors 2a, contributors 2a, 2b, . . . 2n 2b, . . . 2n . . . bank Namount N value N requestors Na, contributors Na, Nb, . . . Nn Nb, . . .Nn

The crowd funding method described above can be implemented, forexample, as a software application integrated with existing entitycomputer systems. The entity controls the process in part by owning theproposal, the project, and coins for it. The entity also owns theintellectual property rights covering the proposal and the project,providing an incentive for the entity to commercialize successfulprojects. This crowd funding method thus provides a specific type ofcrowd funding that may be useful for organizations as a way to fundinnovation and internally develop ideas, aside from the more commonplaceways organizations fund research and development.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of crowdfunding for innovation, comprising steps of: distributing by a requestorvia a computer system a proposal, wherein the proposal includes adescription of a project to be performed, a request for an amount offunds to perform the project, and a time frame for raising the requestedamount of funds; providing a bank of coin owned by an entity andcomprising an artificial monetary amount representing an amount ofcurrency; setting by the entity, for each contributor within a pluralityof contributors, first conversion rates based on types of currencies andsetting by the entity second conversion rates based on a country whereeach contributor is based; and in response to distributing the proposal,receiving by the entity via the computer system contributions from theplurality of contributors, wherein each contribution includes an amountof currency to be used for the project, and wherein, for eachcontribution, if a time limit on each contribution has not expired:converting each contribution to a first currency and a second currencyusing the first and second conversion rates, wherein at least some ofthe contributions comprise a particular amount of the bank of coin; andif the time limit on each contribution has expired: not converting eachcontribution; releasing via the computer system from the entity to therequestor an amount of money corresponding with the amount of currencyconverted from the received contributions, if the convertedcontributions satisfy the requested amount of funds within the timeframe; returning the contributions to the contributors or adding moretime to the time frame, if the converted contributions do not satisfythe requested amount of funds within the time frame; and determiningwhether or not the project is successful after the money is released,wherein the receiving step further comprises selectively adjusting eachcontribution by an incentive multiplier using one of the secondconversion rates, if the time limit on each contribution has notexpired, wherein the distributing step comprises electronicallydisplaying a user interface identifying the proposal and displayingwithin the user interface an indication of an amount of the convertedcontributions for the proposal and a time remaining in the time frame.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of distributingthe contributions by the entity to the contributors, adjusted by thecorresponding incentive multipliers.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe adjusting step comprises multiplying each contribution by a valuegreater than one and less than or equal to two as the incentivemultiplier.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising limiting eachof the contributions to no more than a particular percentage of therequested amount of funds.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theproviding step comprises using a single type of currency for the bank ofcoin.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising making available to apool of potential contributors a particular amount of the bank of coin.7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of sending to apool of potential contributors particular amounts of the coin.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the sending step further comprises licensingthe particular amounts of the coin to the pool of potentialcontributors, wherein the license restricts usage of the coin to crowdfunding of projects within the entity and specifies the time limit whenthe coin can be used for the crowd funding.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein the sending step comprises electronically displaying a userinterface to distribute the particular amounts of coin.
 10. The methodof claim 9, wherein the sending step further comprises displaying withinthe user interface an amount of coin and the time limit to spend theamount of coin.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving stepcomprises electronically displaying a user interface to receive thecontributions.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving stepfurther comprises displaying within the user interface an amount of coinremaining for each contributor and a time remaining to spend theremaining coin.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising the stepof distributing by the entity to the contributors, or selected ones ofthe contributors, a bonus comprising a set amount of coin.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving from thecontributors feedback relating to the project.